The financial management of section 21 schools in the Mopani District, Limpopo Province

Abstract

This research focussed on the roles and responsibilities of school principals, School Governing Body chairpersons and finance officers in managing the finances of Section 21 schools to ensure that quality teaching and learning are provided within context. A qualitative investigation was conducted using individual interviewing. This was supplemented by a study of official documents on financial management at the different research sites. A research sample of 33 participants consisting of eleven school principals, eleven School Governing Body chairpersons, and eleven finance officers represented the selected eleven schools. The findings revealed that school principals lack knowledge and understanding of legislation on financial management. All three types of role-players lack capacity to augment school finances, capacity to manage school assets sufficiently, and capacity to comply with prescripts guiding school finance management. Based on the perceptions of participants, guidelines are provided to improve the capacity of the role-players to manage school finances effectively.